Safe and Sound
by quintessentialy
Summary: Steven promised to always protect Connie if things started to go bad in Beach City - but when the time comes, can he keep his promise, or will everything around them fall apart? (Previously titled Summer)
1. Summer

/In which a 'cute lil SU fic' turns into a full fic with an actual plot. Dang. Didn't mean for this to happen. Hello, new readers! I update this fic nearly on the daily, but reviews help get more fic out faster! Thank you for reading and if you enjoy, make sure to fave/follow the fic. I love recommendations (as in plot recs or things I can include!) because although I have the plot figured out, I'd love to know what you guys want to see. Hope you enjoy, and thank you for reading!

Steven never went to school. He didn't have to worry about classes and grades and getting things done – getting things related to _school_ done, anyways. All he knew about school was that it meant that for eight hours every day, he couldn't call Connie and ask her about violin lessons or how tennis was going or about his theories on what the next Dogcopter movie was going to be like. So when summer came and the beach grew crowded with tourists, he invited Connie to his house nearly every single day.

Steven woke up on a morning in June, shoving back the covers from his bed and nearly stepping on Lion as he ran down the stairs to the kitchen. He shoved two waffles into the toaster, changed into his t-shirt and jeans, and then pulled the waffles out. He loaded them up with sweets; some candies Pearl told him not to have too much of, whipped cream, peanut butter. He ate the waffles quickly and grabbed the phone, dialing Connie's number.

"Connie!" He yelled, grinning into the phone as soon as the line picked up.

"Hello? Oh, oh – Connie! Steven on the phone!" Dr. Maheswaran yelled, covering the receiver with her palm. Steven paused until he heard the line pick up once more.

"Connie!" He yelled again, and this time, he heard the familiar laughter spring through the receiver. His grin grew, and on the other line, Connie was grinning as well.

"Hey, Steven! What are you up to today?" She asked, shoving a book into her bookshelf. At home she had woken up early to reorganize her books – she'd left one out to bring Steven when he invited her over.

"I'm going to hang out with you! And on the TV last night –"

"Aren't you grounded from TV for a thousand years?"

"The ban got lifted!"

"What?! Congratulations!"

"Thank you, thank you. It only took many good deeds –"

"Steven, what were you saying before?"

"Oh! Oh, right!" Steven quickly continued on with what he was saying before, "On the TV last night I saw a documentary about sharks, and I wanted to go shark spotting today!"

"Shark spotting?" Connie asked, narrowing her eyes slightly, shoving her empty glasses frames up her nose, "Really? I didn't think they had sharks in Beach City."

"What? No sharks in Beach City? There has to be at least – at least one, you know! If not, we can always get Amethyst to go in the water and pretend to be one…", Steven trailed off, scratching his head and wiping the extra whipped cream off his chin.

"So you're inviting me over?" Connie asked, smiling and standing up, grabbing the book she'd picked out for him, "I need to know if this is an official invitation. It would be rude to show up uninvited."

"You've showed up uninvited before! Besides, you're always welcome at the Universe home."

"I have shown up uninvited before, and it was rude of me. So?" She asked, already trying to tug her tennis shoes onto her feet.

"You're invited!" Steven yelled, throwing his arms into the air, the phone nearly went flying, and he quickly tightened his hold on it, "Connie?"

"On my way!" She chirped, and the line cut out. Steven climbed up the stairs, back to his loft, and flicked on the TV.

Connie arrived a near half-hour later, toting the book and a small backpack with her. She knocked on the Universe door softly, glancing back at her father's car. She could see him through the windshield, hands tight on the steering wheel, watching her closely. _Embarrassing_ , she thought to herself, gritting her teeth and turning back to the door. When she raised her hand to knock again, the door swung open and Steven grinned at her, "Connie! Is that your dad? Hi, Connie's dad!" Steven yelled, running to the bannister on the porch and leaning over it, waving at the car. Her dad raised his hand in a polite wave before turning the car around and driving over the sand, back to the road and away from Beach City.

"I brought you something." Connie smiled, and Steven turned around and looked at her expectantly.

"A present? You brought me a present?" He asked, and she nodded and held the book out to him. He took it and smiled, flicking through it and then looking at the cover, "A Wrinkle in Time?"

"It's one of my favorites, and since you liked those other books I recommended to you, I thought you might like this one as well! It's got adventure and magic and –" Steven held up a hand quickly, silencing her.

"I've heard enough! Don't spoil it for me, Connie, geez." He said, eyes already scanning the first page. Connie blushed and followed Steven into the house, over to the couch. He sat and flipped through the first few pages of the book before looking back up at her, "It's really good, Connie! Thank you."

"Of course. So – shark hunting, huh?" She asked, arching her eyebrow upward at him. He shook his head quickly, setting the book down on the couch.

"Not _hunting_. I wouldn't want to hurt the sharks! They're just – harmless little scary slimy whales."

"Actually, Steven, sharks are fish, not whales." Connie corrected him, reaching down to tighten the laces on one of her shoes, "I have a book on them –"

"You have a book on sharks?! And you didn't bring it?!" Steven questioned and then groaned, slumping down on the couch.

"I didn't know you wanted me to – why didn't you ask? You know I have _tons_ of important books." Connie mumbled, but Steven was already standing, hands on his hips.

"I didn't think about it. We'll just have to use your brain as our book then – come on!" Steven waved his arm, walking toward the door, "Before we go shark searching, we've got to get fuel –"

"Does fuel mean going to the Big Donut?" Connie asked, and Steven laughed, holding his hand out to her.

"You know me so well."

"Hey, BFF!" Steven grinned, walking into the Big Donut and patting Lars on the back. Lars jumped slightly and narrowed his eyes at Steven, rolling them and glancing at Sadie.

"What are you doing here, Steven?" Lars asked, glancing at Connie briefly before focusing back on Steven, who was preoccupied with pressing his face up to the glass shielding the donut display.

"We're here to get fuel! Sustainable fuel. I've done my research – donuts from the Big Donut are the best source of energy for a boy like me when I have adventures to have and lives to save." He pulled back from the display, looking at his nails, "You know me, saving lives, on the daily –"

"And what lives are you going to save today, Steven?" Sadie asked curiously, smiling kindly at him and turning around to the donuts, already beginning to sort and place the ones she knew were his favorites into a bag.

"Shark lives! We're going shark searching!" Connie piped up, and Lars immediately began to laugh, pressing his hand to his stomach and bending over.

"Shark searching? There aren't any sharks in Beach City!" He snorted, laughing even harder. Sadie sighed and rolled her eyes at Lars, pursing her lips as she handed the bag over to Steven.

"I think it's really nice of you two to go out and – save any sharks that happen to be in – er, danger. It's brave!" Sadie replied, eyeing Lars as he immediately stopped laughing, blushing and rubbing the back of his neck when he sensed Sadie's disapproval. Steven slid a few dollars across the counter, and Sadie stuck them in the register.

Connie took the bag and put it into her backpack. "Thanks, Sadie! Did you know that sharks –"

"Sharks are a type of fish!" Steven grinned, and Connie elbowed him playfully.

"That was _my_ line." Connie giggled, and Steven laughed and pushed her away.

"Well if you two actually see any sharks out there, make sure to come back and tell me about it. Or even if you don't see any sharks. It's so boring here." Sadie mumbled, and Steven and Connie turned and headed out the door. Lars pouted, organizing the straws in a small silver tin by the drinks.

"Am I not interesting enough, Player 2?" He asked, and Sadie blushed slightly, slouching over the register and biting down on the inside of her cheek.

Steven and Connie walked down the sidewalk toward the boardwalk – but halfway there, Steven could already see how crowded the beach was. Connie noticed, too, cringing at the amount of people. "That's – that's a lot of people. Maybe we should go back to your beach." She said, glancing at Steven. He stared at all the people for a moment.

"No, I think it's okay. It's not too bad, is it?" He asked, glancing at Connie. She was nervous, fumbling with her hands and pushing her glasses up her nose even when they weren't sliding down. "Okay, okay. Let's go back to my beach. I bet there'll be more sharks over there, anyways! Less people, more sharks." Steven grinned. Connie released a sigh of relief, turning and walking with Steven back to the beach.

They settled into a shaded spot near the cliff, their backs pressed to the damp, cold stone. Connie pulled the bag of slightly melted donuts out of her bag and they shared them, getting the sticky icing all over the fingers. Steven got it all over his face and Connie got a bit in her hair, but they laughed and she told him about her violin lessons and he asked her about tennis. It was hot, and Connie took off her shoes to dig her feet into the sand. Steven did the same, and as they were talking, they found their hands pressed against each other and their pinkies overlapping.

For a bit they forgot about their adventure they were supposed to be having and thought about how it was sweltering outside. Steven thought about how worried the Gems were, with the fear of war and danger and he thought about how he had to keep Connie safe. Connie thought about how they wouldn't be friends if it weren't for his Gem powers and how she didn't want to go back to school because Steven was her only friend and he lived far away in Beach City. And somewhere in the afternoon they started holding hands, talking about the things they weren't thinking about.

It was all chaste, they both swore, but when Connie's phone started ringing because her Dad had come back to pick her up and she realized they never even _looked_ for sharks at all, she realized it might be a little more.

Steven didn't even think about it, but he felt a small absence in him, a small hole, when Connie left. And that night he stayed up, balancing his feet on Lion and reading _A Wrinkle in Time_ , thinking all about how he was going to talk to her about it tomorrow.


	2. Camping

Steven returned to the Big Donut the next day, looking nearly the same as the day before (minus Connie – her parents surprised her with a trip to a concert hall a few towns over to watch an opera – Steven still didn't know what the heck an opera was), backpack in hand and the book _A Wrinkle in Time_ in the other. "Sadie!" He grinned, running up to the counter and setting his backpack and book down atop it, "Any new donut flavors?"

"One. We got the shipment last night right before we closed up, or I would've given you a sample yesterday. Chocolate donut, vanilla glaze, and covered in yellow sprinkles. I think it's supposed to be some kind of 'summer' themed donut, but it looks silly." Sadie smiled, pulling one out of the display and setting it on a napkin, "Here you go. How did your adventures go yesterday?"

"Yesterday?" Steven furrowed his eyebrows together for a moment before remembering Connie and his' failed plans from the day before, "Oh! Shark searching. It didn't happen."

"What, why not? Did it rain over on your beach? We got the tiniest bit of rain over here – I had to walk home in it." Sadie scowled slightly, and Steven took the donut and bit a large chunk out of it. He scarfed the rest of it down after his initial taste, humming and patting his stomach.

"Nah, Connie and I just ended up hanging out instead. She gave me this book." Steven nudged the book toward Sadie and she gasped, grinning.

"Oh, I love this book! It's so good – have you started it? What page are you on?" Sadie asked, flipping through it, a grin covering her face.

"I'm about halfway through it. I started reading it last night but it's so long!" Steven complained, folding his arms atop the counter and leaning against it, "Do you have another one of those donuts for me?"

Sadie jabbered on about the book as she pulled another one of the summer-themed donuts out of the display. Steven was about to begin eating it when the backroom door opened and Lars stormed through, hands shoved in his pockets and head tilted toward the ground. "Stupid – parents – never – _listen_!" He growled, picking up a cardboard box by the drink machine and ripping it open, grabbing a stack of plastic lids and beginning to try and jam them into the dispenser.

"Um, Lars? You okay?" Sadie asked him, setting the book down and narrowing her eyes at him, "You seem a bit –"

"Angry? It's because I _am_!" He shouted, shoving his hands over his eyes and sinking down to the ground with a groan. He leaned against the counter and sighed, glancing over at her, "Sorry, Sadie."

"It's – um, fine." She fumbled with her hands for a minute while Steven shoved the book into his backpack, slinging it over one shoulder.

"Lars, you seem like you need a vacation." Steven noted, and Lars scowled at him and his face again.

"Obviously! I just need to get away from my stupid parents. They think I don't hang out with the right people –" Lars started, wrapping his arms around himself, "And they think I'm getting into trouble all the time just to _spite_ them! Ugh, they're so – so – _stupid!_ " Lars shouted, and Sadie sighed, leaning against the counter.

"Well, since you two enjoyed our last vacation so much," Steven began, causing Sadie to blush and Lars to curl up, "I think we should go on another one!"

"Steven, that last one really didn't go as well as I think you thought it did." Sadie mumbled, picking at her nails. Steven rolled his eyes and smiled at her, and then at Lars.

"Come on! It could be fun! We can go camping and pet bears and I can bring Lion, right, and Lion can protect us! No more angry, scary gem creatures out there trying to get us like last time!" Steven proposed. Sadie was ready to refuse when Lars stood, arms still crossed, grimacing.

"I'm down for it." He mumbled, and Sadie's eyes widened slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, then quickly shut it. Steve turned to look at her and she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Alright." She replied, "I'm down for it, too."

Sadie and Lars closed up the Big Donut early, and Steven led them up to his house on the side of the cliff. Lars was quiet, arms wrapped tightly around himself, while Sadie and Steven chatted about the book and the missions the Gems were going on.

The Gems had been rather – absent – as of late in Steven's house. Sometimes he would see them at night right before he went to bed, but he rarely saw them during the day. Last night the Gems insisted on staying with him until he was asleep, but he was quick to pretend to fall asleep so they could return to their ventures.

Lion greeted them at the door to the house, nudging its head under Steven's head until he got the petting he deserved. Steven put another book in his backpack, along with some sheets of crying breakfast friends stickers. Once he had everything he was sure he would need, he hopped onto Lions back and patted the space behind him. "Lars, Sadie – hop on! I think we can all fit." He mumbled, and Sadie sat behind Steven, with Lars balancing on the very end of the Lions back. He wrapped his arms around Sadie for support, and Sadie blushed and rolled her eyes.

Lion got a running start and leapt into the air – after a brief moment, the scenery changed, forming into a thick woods, the smell of pine trees and damp soil filling the air. Sadie was off Lion first, slipping away from Lars and straightening her shirt, blushing brightly when she glanced at him. "So this is – this is it, huh? It's nice. Could be – er, relaxing."

"It smells weird." Lars muttered, avoiding Sadie's eyes and leaning against a tree. Steven eyed the two of them for a minute before huffing, dropping his backpack to the ground.

"Okay, well, first we need some wood. Y'know, to build a fire! Lars, why don't you go look? Sadie and I can fix up a shelter." Steven suggested. Lars turned on his heel almost immediately, trudging off into the forest. As soon as he was out of earshot, Steven turned to Sadie and threw his arms into the air, "What is with you two?! You two have been acting a little weird all day – and – and yesterday even, and the day before that!"

"It's been weird since our _first_ vacation, Steven. He made things weird. He – you know, he _kissed_ me. On my _mouth_." Sadie mumbled, tugging at the ends of her hair and sighing, "No one's ever kissed me before that and he knew I _liked_ him and I thought _he_ liked _me_ but he _didn't_!" She let out a frustrated groan, burying her face in her hands, "You don't know what it's like, Steven, to like him so much and feel like you have a chance, only to be let down."

"Oh, Sadie. I'm sure he likes you! Everyone likes you! You're totally – like-ish." Steven said, patting her arm affectionately.

"I think you mean likable."

"See? You correct me when I say the wrong things. Who doesn't like that?" Steven smiled, and Sadie laughed slightly and moved her hands away from her face, "Okay. Come on, let's actually get the shelter set up! And then we can build a fire and tell stories and – and you and Lars are going to be okay!"

Sadie nodded, pressing her lips together for a moment, "Right. We're always okay. Thanks, Steven."

"No problem, Sadie. I don't like seeing my favorite donut supplier all sad!"

The next morning, Sadie went off to go find some berries for breakfast while Steven and Lars helped each other build another fire. There were clouds in the sky, and the added shield of the trees from the sun made the woods rather dark and gloomy. Lars seemed off anyways, and Steven tried asking him about it, but Lars only shut him down.

"My back just hurts from laying on the ground all night. God, Steven, couldn't you at least bring some sleeping bags?" Lars muttered, and Steven shook his head.

"No way! This is an _authentic camping experience!_ Real wilderness people don't have sleeping bags. What is this? Luxury camping? No way!" Steven teased Lars, and Lars groaned and rolled his eyes. "Geez, Lars. No need to be such a jerk."

Lars groaned again, throwing his hands into the air, "I give up! Sadie is mad at me, and you're going to be mad at me, too – my parents are mad at me! Everyone's mad at me! I don't even know what I did!" Lars wrapped his arms around his legs.

"She just feels – awkward! You know, because the last time we –"

"I kissed her. I know. But I didn't mean to make it awkward. I liked – I – I _like_ her." Lars mumbled, resting his chin between his knees, "I'm not good with feelings."

"She can tell." Steven muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How do you show people you care?" Lars asked him, grimacing and looking up at Steven, "I – I don't know how to show her. Because I can't tell her. She – I – ugh!"

"I'm just nice to them. I'm nice to – to Garnet and Pearl and Amethyst and my dad. And – and Connie." Steven replied, listing the people and counting them off on his hand, "And I'm nice to Sadie. You could start by being nice to her."

"I'm not _mean_ to her, am I?" Lars asked, looking up at Steven. Steven paused and frowned. Lars groaned once more, falling back on the dirt.

"Oh, man! Whatever. She's so – sour on me that she probably doesn't even want me to like her anymore. I'll just stop."

By the time Steven had finished building the fire (without the help of Lars, who continued to groan on the ground), it had begun to rain over their campsite. Lion ducked inside the shelter, and Lars and Steven joined in. Sadie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she? Do you think something got her? Like – like a bear!" Lars shouted, waving his arms around, "We have to go find her and get out of here!"

"We can't go out in the rain! We'll get all soggy." Steven protested, but Lars' pacing was beginning to driving him crazy, "Fine! Fine, let's go find her. C'mon, Lion. We're gonna get her and get out of here."

Lion stood and Steven climbed on top of him, Lars joining him after he stopped his pacing. Lion stepped out into the cold, pouring rain, and started to run into the thick trees.

The rain was relentless, falling so hard they could barely see anything. Sadie was nowhere to be seen – it took them forever to even find Steven's backpack, which she had taken with her when she went to search for the berries.

"Where is she?!" Lars shouted, picking up the backpack and holding it to his chest, "Steven!"

"We'll find her! We've just got to wait – wait until the rain stops!" Steven shouted above the noise. There was a crack above them, and Lion pounced on top of the two of them, shoving them out of the way as a tree branch fell from high above. The branch landed with a loud _thud,_ and then another, and another. Through the tree trunks, Lars could make out a shadowed figure running towards them – the closer it got, the more recognizable it became, and he stood on shaky legs and started running toward Sadie. He grabbed her and wrapped himself around her, ducking and throwing them at the ground when another branch fell beside them.

"Lion!" Steven shouted, and the Lion stood, growling and shaking its mane. Steven jumped onto its back and Lion ran towards the two. Lars held Sadie, pulling her onto Lion's back when it came close. Sadie had a huge cut on her leg, but Lars held onto her tightly as Lion ran, roared, and jumped back into Beach City.

"Morning, Sadie!" Steven smiled, walking into the Big Donut. Sadie smiled at him, waving from the counter.

"Hey, Steven. What's up?"

"Just came by to check on you. You had a pretty bad cut yesterday – is it doing okay?" Steven asked, leaning against the counter and leaning over it to look at her bandaged leg. His healing powers had been sporadic as of recently, and he didn't want to try and heal her only to have his powers do something weird.

"It's fine. Lars stayed home today. He got a cold from all that rain." Sadie sighed, pausing for a moment, "You know, Steven, I really appreciate what you tried to do for us with that vacation. It's just, Lars and I – we might be better off friends. I don't think he feels the same way about me."

"He was so scared when you were gone yesterday, Sadie! He –"

"Steven, have you ever liked someone so much, that even if they liked you back, you might not want to be with them? Just out of fear that it might now be the way you always imagined it to be?" Sadie asked him , pressing her lips together for a moment and blushing.

Steven paused for a moment and pressed his hands to the counter – "No. Because if I liked someone that much, I'd do everything I could to make it the best relationship ever!" He smiled, and Sadie frowned for a moment before laughing, smiling back at him.

"Steven, you're a gem. Pun intended." Sadie grinned, and Steven grinned back at her.

"So, about that book, A Wrinkle in Time – did you like it?" Sadie asked, slipping a donut across the counter for Steven to snack on while they talked. Just like that, everything was back to the way it had always been.


	3. Shells

"Pearl, let me come with you guys!" Steven begged, hopping up from the couch and running toward the warp pad. Pearl crossed her arms and sighed, glancing down at him.

"Steven, I told you, it isn't safe. And under any other circumstance I would let you come, but it looks like all three of us are going to have to fight and we won't be able to look after you –"

"I don't need you to look after me!" Steven whined, and Garnet took a step forward.

"I agree with Pearl." She said, nodding her head downwards toward Steven, "We have to protect you."

"And we'll be protecting you by keeping you here, nice and safe in Beach City." Pearl cringed slightly at her words – Beach City hadn't been the safest place in the world recently, and for a moment she considered bringing Steven along. She quickly shook the thought from her head and stood her ground, "You can't come."

"Amethyst!" Steven yelped, and she flicked a strand of purple hair off her shoulder, the other hand pressed to her hip.

"Look, Steven, I would _totally_ love for you to join us and all, but I think Pearl has a point. And you know I don't like agreeing with her –" Amethyst started, but Pearl turned to glare at her before she could go on, "you can join us another time. You've got to keep Beach City safe."

Steven groaned and turned away, sulking back into the living room. Pearl sighed and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it and pursed her lips. The warp pad activated and the three gems disappeared, leaving Steven alone and awfully, terribly, horribly _bored_.

Until he realized moments later that it was a Friday, meaning that Connie didn't have violin lessons _or_ tennis practice. He jumped towards the phone, pressed the number five, and waited.

"Hello?" A groggy voice picked up on the other line, yawning, "Who is this?"

"Steven!" Steven grinned, frowning slightly, "Did I wake you up?"

"Of course you did, it's – oh. Oh, _no_ , we overslept! We overslept. Are you calling for Connie? _Connie! Connie, Steven is on the phone!_ " Dr. Maheswaran shouted, hanging up as soon as Connie picked up the other line.

"Steven?" Connie yawned, rubbing at her eyes, "Sorry. It's really weird, all of the clocks in our house reset so we missed our alarms."

"You use alarms during the summer?" Steven asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Connie laughed slightly, yawned, and nudged the phone between her shoulder and ear.

"Yeah. My parents like to be punctual. I do, too, but I don't mind sleeping in once in a while. What's up? Oh, did you finish the book I gave you?" She asked. Steven glanced across the room at the book on the coffee table.

"I've got another twenty pages left, I think. So, no. But I'm close! It's really good!" Steven smiled, and then added, "Did you want to come over today?"

"Sure. I'll be over in – I don't know, an hour? Is that okay?" She asked, and Steven nodded for a moment before replying.

"Yeah! I'll see you then!"

"Okay – bye, Steven!"

Steven glanced over at the clock on his stove, seeing that it had reset itself, too. He frowned and checked the other few clocks in his house – all reset to midnight. _Probably some kind of late-night power outage_ , he thought to himself, though the back of his mind suggested it may be so much more.

Connie showed up roughly an hour later, carrying a plastic container filled with cookies. "My mom wanted me to bring these over. You know, since I'm at your house so much. As a sort of thank-you gift."

"A thank-you gift?" Steven grinned, tearing the lid off the container and shoving one of the cookies into his mouth, "Y'know, your mom might be strict, but she sure is nice."

"I guess you could say that." Connie shrugged, sitting down next to Steven at the end of his bed. "Is 'Under the Knife' on?" She asked, and Steven flicked through the channels on the TV until he found an episode playing.

"Do you not like your mom?" Steven asked, eating another cookie, "Sometimes you act like you don't like her."

"No! I love my parents. She can just be – a major source of stress for me."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and it's not like – I love tennis and violin and all of that, but yesterday she asked me to practice the violin for _hours_. And I did. Because I feel like I can't say no to her, you know, and it – it kind of – kind of – _sucks_." Connie huffed. Steven frowned and wrapped his arm around Connie's shoulders, and she leaned into him. He put the lid back on the cookie container and set it on the ground and they watched the episode, his arm wrapped around her, in silence.

When the credits started rolling, Connie finally spoke again, "I'm sorry for dumping all of that on you. Do you want to head down to the beach?" She asked, standing up and brushing her dress off, "We can look for shells."

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about the shells." Steven grinned, glancing over at the plastic tray by the TV. Connie and Steven had started a shell collection; every time Connie came over they would head to the beach and try to find new ones. "Let's go!"

Steven led the way over to the main beach, carrying a purple plastic bucket. He'd given Connie her own, colored blue, and they swung their buckets and chatted the whole way. She continuously asked him about the book, but he insisted he didn't want to talk about it until he was totally finished.

They reached the water and Steven kicked off his shoes, running toward the tide and waiting for the waves to sink back into the ocean before he started looking. Connie sat on the sand, peeling off her socks and then her shoes before she joined him, carefully tiptoeing around in the water, bending down to look for the best shells, while Steven just shoved random handfuls of sand into his bucket.

After a few moments they sat across from each other on the sand, legs crossed.

"Ready to share?" Connie asked, grinning at Steven, "I think I got some good ones."

"Think again! I've got the best ones!" Steven smiled, "Ready? Three – two – one!" After Steven shouted the last number, they each dumped their buckets out. Connie presented him with a few dozen sparkling, multicolored shells, while Steven spread out the sand, presenting a variety of tons of shells.

"Oh, no fair! You just put anything into your bucket." Connie laughed, pushing her empty glasses frames up her nose.

"That's how I get all the best ones! The best ones are always the ones that no one pays attention to." Steven grinned, "Like you!"

Connie laughed and took one of his shells, looking at it for a moment before putting it into her bucket.

"You really are my best friend, Steven." Connie said, looking at him, "My only friend, but still my best."

"You're my best friend, too, Connie. Who else would bring me books and cookies and hang out with me all day?" He asked, and Connie smiled and put her shells back into her bucket, "And dance with me. Remember when we danced?"

"Oh, don't even bring that up! That whole fusion thing was – crazy."

"Do you think we could do it again? Like – do you think it's possible it could happen again? I'm not sure it would entirely be safe to do again."

"Maybe. I don't know. Did you talk about it with the Gems?"

"Kind of. They basically just told me not to do it again."

"Where are they today?" Connie asked curiously, laying back on the sand and tucking her hands behind her head.

"They went off somewhere this morning and they wouldn't let me come. Ridiculous! They told me it was too dangerous! I have a _shield_ , nothing can get to me!" Steven laughed, and Connie giggled a bit, too. "They told me I have to keep Beach City safe."

"And me."

"And you, obviously." Steven replied, staring at Connie for a moment before looking away, "I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Connie. Ever."

Connie sat up and reached over to take his hand, "I wouldn't let anything happen to you, either, Steven, but you're not getting rid of me. Don't try to pull some kind of stunt like that again." She said, and Steven pressed his lips together, remembering the time he tried to shut Connie out.

"I won't. I know better."

"You bet you do. I'm strong." Connie grinned, raising her arm and flexing her muscles. Steven laughed and stood up. "Where you going?"

"I'm going to go find you some more shells!" He replied, smiling back at her. She grinned and settled back on the sand, closing her eyes.

Steven scanned the water for a bit, plucking a few shells out of the sand – a round pink one, a sharp gray one, a smooth white one. He stepped on something particularly slippery and frowned, kicking the seaweed out of the way, reaching down to pick up a smooth, shining green shell. He examined it for a moment before his eyes went wide, and he dropped the shells he was holding, "Connie!"

"What? Steven, what is it?" Connie called out from the sand, and Steven ran back to her, kneeling down beside her on the sand.

"We have to go back to my house right now!"

"What, why?" Connie asked, sitting up and looking at the thing Steven was holding, "What is that?"

Steven stared at the large stone, "It's a gem."


	4. Jade

/Thank you for reading this! I've recently started watching Steven Universe and thus this fic came. If you like it so far, please leave a review (you can even leave something you want to see in the fic - I'm writing this fic for me as well as _you_ , so let me know what you want to see and I'll try my hardest!) or favorite/follow the story. Thank you again for reading - I appreciate it so much. The fic has just begun.

"Steven, where did you find this?" Pearl asked, staring at the smooth, green gem encased in the Quartz bubble in front of her. Amethyst was playing with her whip, and Garnet had her arms crossed, standing between the two of them. Connie had gone home hours ago – it was the middle of the night and he was exhausted, but the Gems wouldn't leave him alone about the thing he found on the beach.

"I found it in the water! It was just – on the beach! I told you this." Steven groaned, slumping down on the couch and pouting, "It was just _there_."

"Do you think it's a homeworld gem?" Garnet asked Pearl, who was biting her lower lip and staring at the gem, hard.

"I don't know. It's a gem I've never met before – maybe it's someone from the war that we never met? Do you recognize this? Amethyst!"

Amethyst had been trying to distract herself ever since Steven had shown the other two the gem. She glanced up at Pearl but quickly looked away, swallowing slightly, "Nah, I don't – I've never seen it before."

"Amethyst." Garnet said, sighing, "Amethyst…"

"What?! I'm telling the truth!" She yelped, and Pearl jumped slightly before sucking in her cheeks, crossing her arms.

"No one accused you of lying." Pearl pointed out, and Amethyst bit down on the inside of her cheek, hard. "Amethyst, have you seen this gem before?"

Amethyst was silent for a moment before sighing, mimicking Steven's position and slumping down on the couch, "Yeah, when I was a lot younger. I think it came out of the Kindergarten. I don't know. I can't – I don't like talking about that."

"We know. But you have to tell us about this!" Steven replied, frustrated, "Amethyst, this is _scary_."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Amethyst snapped, frowning and jumping up from the couch, "I don't know what it is! It's – probably, like, harmless."

"Well, now it is, since we put it in the bubble." Garnet replied, huffing, "Amethyst, just tell us what you _think_ it is."

Amethyst set her mouth in a line, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh from her nose. She leaned toward the bubble and stared at it for a moment before turning away. "Jade."

"Jade?" Pearl scoffed, glancing back at Amethyst, "I've never heard of Jade before, and I know all the gems."

"Well, apparently you don't. Because you didn't know what that one is, and that one is most definitely jade. Smooth and round, dark green. It's Jade."

"Maybe it's – Emerald." Pearl suggested, glancing back at it and furrowing her brow, "No, it's too dense –"

"I told you it's Jade. If you're not going to take that seriously then – I'm out of here. I'm going to my room." Amethyst huffed, rolling her eyes and walking over the warp pad, and into her room.

"I'll take Jade to the Burning Room." Garnet mumbled, taking the bubble into her hands, "Pearl, you should rest."

"I don't need rest, I'm a gem." Pearl replied, crossing her arms and shifting her glance to Steven, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Steven replied, scratching the top of his head, "You know, last night, all the clocks reset."

"Really?"

"Yeah, here and all the way over to Connie's town. Her parents woke up later. I think – I think something's happening, Pearl."

"Reset clocks and now a – a whole new gem." Pearl mumbled, running her hand over her face and sighing, "You need sleep, Steven."

"How can I sleep when all this crazy stuff is happening?!" He shouted, throwing his hands up into the air, "Pearl, what if something happens and I'm – I'm the only one left in Beach City to protect it? I can't fuse with anyone. I can't – I – I can't do it." Steven mumbled, sniffing, "I can't do it."

Pearl sighed and bent down in front of Steven, taking his shoulders into her hands, "I never doubted Rose Quartz ever. And I know I've doubted you before when I shouldn't have because, Steven, you are just like her. You are _strong_."

"I'm strong." He mumbled, glancing at Pearl, "I – I wish I'd met her."

"Oh, Steven. I wish you had, too." Pearl sighed, wrapping her arms around Steven in a hug. "Do you want me to stay up with you?"

"No, I'm going to sleep." Steven replied, standing up and grabbing _A Wrinkle in Time_ off the coffee table, "Where's Lion?"

"Lion's out on the beach." Pearl replied, and Steven nodded and headed to the door, opening it and calling out. Lion padded up the stairs a few moments later, nudging its head under Stevens hand for a scratch.

"Alright. Goodnight, Steven." Pearl said, standing and glancing at him, "I'll be in my room."

"Okay. Goodnight, Pearl."

"We love you, Steven."

"We love you, too." Steven replied, motioning to Lion. Pearl smiled and headed into her room. Steven walked up the stairs to his bed, Lion curling up at the foot and yawning, setting its head between its paws. Steven opened the book and read until his eyes closed, the book folded over his chest, set on the last page.


	5. Bacon

Garnet stood in the middle of the Burning Room, staring at the bubble balanced in her palm. She scowled slightly – everything going on with Peridot put her in a bad mood. Sapphire was supremely stressed about keeping homeworld gems away from Earth, and Ruby was supremely stressed about keeping Sapphire safe at all times (which wasn't hard to do, when he was fused with her twenty-four seven).

She lifted the bubble into the air and let it float, turning away and toward the bubbling pit in the middle of the room. She crossed her arms and sighed, fixing her glasses.

"I'm worried about you," she said, closing her eyes for a moment and then reopening them.

"You shouldn't be worried. We're together, that's all that matters." She replied, and then sighed once more.

"Sometimes I think it would be safer if – you know – we separated."

"That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard. We're best when we're together."

"I know." She smiled slightly, uncrossing her arms and heading for the door, "I'm sorry."

"You just worry. I worry, too, Ruby, trust me. I worry about you and us and Amethyst and Pearl. And Steven. But we have got to stick together, the two of us, and the five of us together. We have to keep Earth _safe_." Sapphire insisted, words escaping from Garnet's lips.

"And we will. All of us, together, always." Ruby insisted, and Garnet sighed, feeling full, altogether once more. She opened the door and stepped out – already daytime back in the house, the sun just rising over the ocean outside.

"Steven." Garnet mumbled, walking over to the platform. He was asleep, as she suspected, and she decided to leave him be. She turned, instead, and sat down on the couch, leaning back and letting herself relax.

Until Pearl busted into the room moments later, smoothing down her hair and mumbling about Jade.

"So, Garnet. Today! Our plans today! Go back to the Kindergarten, yes?" Pearl smiled, hands fluttering to her clothes, smoothing them out.

"Perhaps. Except this time, we won't be looking for Peridot."

"What? But we're so – we're so close, I can feel it." Pearl replied, frowning and clenching one of her hands into a fist, "When we find her –"

"We're going to give her everything we've got. But right now there's a gem, trapped in a bubble that we have never, ever even _heard_ of." Garnet insisted, standing up, "I think that needs our attention."

"We'll see what Amethyst thinks." Pearl crossed her arms, frowning slightly. It was on very few occasions that Pearl and Garnet strongly disagreed on something, and this had to be one of them; Pearl was so set on finding Peridot and getting at her that she didn't want anything interrupting her plan.

Almost on cue, Amethyst walked through the doors, weapon already in hand. She ignored the two for a moment, walking over to the fridge instead, pulling out some cold, leftover waffles from the day before. She started to eat them, shoving them into her mouth and staring at the two of them while they stared at her.

"What?" She asked around a mouthful of waffle, swallowing and narrowing her eyes at them, "Oh, man, are you two going to make me make another _decision_?" Amethyst groaned, all too loudly. Steven stirred in his bed and Pearl shushed her, bringing her hand to her forehead to squeeze at her temples.

"We're going to the Kindergarten." Garnet said, and Amethyst immediately looked a bit uncomfortable, "We're either going to be looking for Peridot or searching for the origins of Jade."

" _Oh_." Amethyst sighed, finishing a waffle, "Well! Since _I_ get to choose, I choose neither. We're not going to the Kindergarten."

"That's not how that _works_ , Amethyst. We're going to the Kindergarten. We have to. You know it's our best choice if we want to figure out what's going on."

"We've been there every day for _weeks_." Amethyst replied, frowning, "Do you realize how – how – how stressful that is for me? You two aren't from there, of course you wouldn't know." Amethyst muttered, shivering at her memories and walking away from the kitchen, over to the couch. "It hurts."

Pearl frowned and glanced at Garnet, who let out a soft sigh. The three of them had all been stressed lately, sure, but the two of them had never thought about how going to the Kindergarten constantly might make Amethyst exhausted.

"You don't have to come." Garnet suggested, but Amethyst just looked offended.

"I can handle it." She snapped, standing, "And if we have to go, we're looking for Peridot."

"Yes! Good, good. Off we go." Pearl grinned, clapping her hands together, "We've got a long day ahead of us – search for Peridot, find Peridot, make Peridot _suffer_." Pearl muttered, walking toward the warp pad and standing on it.

"If you say so." Garnet shrugged, though the tugging feeling in her stomach told her that it was the wrong choice. Amethyst followed Garnet and the three of them stood on the warp pad, dissolving, heading to the Kindergarten.

Steven awoke a few hours later, yawning and rubbing at his eyes. He shoved the book off to the side and stood, quickly changing before heading down the stairs for breakfast. Lion followed him, nudging at him the entire time for piece of bacon. Steven didn't even check to see where the gems were; he just assumed they'd already left. It was rare that he caught them before they left early in the morning for their Peridot hunts.

The door to the house opened and Greg stepped inside, toting a bag full of CD's and magazines. "Morning, Steven!" He shouted, shoving the bag onto the counter and dumping it out, "What're you makin'?"

"Eggs and bacon. That's what I'm makin'." Steven rhymed, smiling at his father, "Why'd you come over, dad?"

"I brought you a bunch of CD's and magazines from the back of my van." He said, sorting them into two piles while Steven cooked, "I even found some of them in the car wash. I thought you might like them." He said, pulling one of the CD's out and showing it to him, "Rose liked this one."

Steven sighed slightly, smiling, "You can put it in the player if you want. We can listen to it while I cook! Want me to make you something?"

"Some eggs would be nice." Greg replied, walking over to the CD player and sticking the CD in, turning up the volume and pressing play. A rock song started to play, beginning with a ballad and then a hard guitar solo, "Oh, man, she loved this."

"We found a new gem yesterday." Steven told Greg, hoping to shift the conversation, "Amethyst said it's called Jade."

"Jade?" Greg replied, walking over to the kitchen, "Where the heck did you find a new gem?"

"On the beach! In the water, when I was looking for seashells with Connie. It was _crazy_. The gems already left to go look for Peridot."

"Have they not been taking you lately?" Greg asked, slightly surprised, "I would think you would go with them."

"I always want to, but they – er, Pearl, especially – has been all crazy about protecting me." Steven sighed, "They don't get it. I can fight! I can take care of myself."

"But you're needed here!" Greg grinned, "To protect –"

"To protect Beach City. They tell me that, too. But we all work together as a _team_."

"I get that. They'll come around. I can talk to Pearl. If you, you know, want."

"Nah. I'll just continue to persuade her."

"Alright, if you say so." Greg grinned, grabbing a piece of bacon and shoving it into his mouth, "Ah! Hot!" He shouted, spitting it into the sink.

"Gross!" Steven laughed, and Greg laughed along, too. They continued making breakfast, sorting through CD's and flicking through magazines, Steven's mind stuck on Jade while Greg's was stuck on Rose.

/ Just some Greg action because I really like him as a character. Over 500 views on this fic! Thank you so much. The more reviews/favorites/follows, the faster new chapters get posted! Thank you all so, so much for reading, and I'd love any recommendations and/or constructive criticism on my work to help me out! Have a good night.


	6. Clockwork

/ Pretty long chapter! The past few have been quite short, so maybe this'll make up for it!

"Connie, I'm not sure if you should come over today." Steven mumbled into the phone with a frown, "I don't know if it's safe."

"Safe? Come on, Steven, I can protect myself. Besides, won't it be safer with me there? We can protect each other!" Connie grinned into the phone, though she could feel that something wasn't quite right with him, "Steven? Are you okay?"

Steven sighed and leaned against the wall, holding the phone tightly to his ear. He pressed his lips together for a moment, and then spoke again, "I'm okay. How about you come over tomorrow? I'll – you know, check out Beach City today and make sure it's all – safe."

"Right." Connie huffed, leaning against the bookshelf in her room, "Steven, sometimes I feel like you don't believe I can protect myself."

"No! Connie, I know you're brave and all – you're probably one of the bravest people I know, and I know the Crystal Gems." Steven replied quickly, closing his eyes, "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Steven, you're my best friend!" Connie replied with a groan, "That feeling is _totally_ mutual."

"I'll just see you tomorrow." Steven said quickly, the Gems returning on the warp pad nearby, "Tomorrow. Bright and early."

"Fine. Tomorrow." Connie mumbled with a sigh, "Steven?"

"Hm?"

"Stay safe."

"You, too, Connie." Steven replied, quickly hanging up the phone and running toward the pad, "Did you find her? Peridot?"

One look at Pearl told him they did _not_ find Peridot – she looked beyond stressed, and even bruised up. Garnet was holding a bubble in her hands with Amethyst's gem inside of it, and Steven gasped upon seeing it, "What happened?!"

"She made a stupid decision." Pearl replied, looking at the bubble sourly, "She jumped off this massive cliff –"

"She thought she saw Peridot." Garnet pointed out, frowning at Pearl, "She was trying to help."

"She wasn't helping! She cracked her gem! How is putting herself in danger helping at _all_?" Pearl asked Garnet, who glanced down at the bubble.

"Maybe if you didn't put so much pressure on her to do good all the time –"

"Don't you _dare_ blame this on me, Garnet. She's such – she's such a _hassle_." Pearl muttered, and Garnet frowned deeply, turning away.

"That's not very nice, Pearl." Steven spoke up, furrowing his brow and looking at her.

"Oh, whatever. When she gets back, I'll just teach her some safety tips and maybe, for once, she'll actually listen to me and help the group." Pearl snapped, turning on her heel and storming into her room.

"She's in a bad mood." Garnet told Steven, as though it wasn't entirely obvious, "It has nothing to do with you."

"I know, Garnet." Steven replied, looking at Amethyst's gem, floating in the bubble. "Have you found out anything else about Jade?"

"Not at all. Pearl won't give the thought the time of day." Garnet huffed, "I'm half-tempted to take Jade out of the bubble and ask her myself."

"Woah! Woah, woah, woah, you can't do that." Steven waved his arms around, eyes wide, "She could be _dangerous_."

"Oh, now you sound like Pearl!" Garnet huffed, frowning once more, "Steven, I'm a Crystal Gem. _We_ are the Crystal Gems."

"And we always save the day –" Steven began, but Garnet laughed slightly and placed her hand on his head, "Sorry."

"Whatever Jade throws at us – we can handle it." Garnet insisted, and Steven nodded, "We can't doubt ourselves. Especially not now. We – well, _you_ handled Lapis. I handled Jasper. We got this."

"Right. We got this." Steven smiled, and Garnet pulled away. "Do you want to come into town with me?" He offered, "After you put Amethyst away?"

"I'm sorry, Steven, I can't. I've got to talk to Pearl." Garnet replied, "Be –"

"Careful." Steven nodded, rolling his eyes slightly, "I'm always careful!" Garnet laughed this time, really laughed, and gave him a grin before leaving the room and heading to the Burning Room. Steven turned and alked out the door, heading into town.

Steven pushed the door to Fish Stew Pizza open, walking up to the counter, "One small cheese pizza – extra cheese." He requested, grinning, "How are you, Kiki?"

"I'm alright." She replied, her smile more forced than usual, "It's been tough. We've been having problems down here in town. Are you having a clock problem up on cliff? Because _every time_ we try to set our clocks to the correct time, they reset." Kiki rambled, typing the order into the register. Steven slid some money over the counter and she took it, counting out change with ease, "Here."

"You can keep it as a tip!" Steven offered, and Kiki sighed.

"Thanks, Steven. We've been having some problems getting customers, too. You would think because it's summer, there'd be more people at the beach."

"I thought it looked pretty crowded a few days ago." Steven replied, but Kiki only shrugged.

"If it was, then they sure weren't buying our pizza. It's got dad all stressed out." Kiki turned around and grabbed the pizza box, handing it to Steven.

"I'm investigating the clock problem. And I'll tell people about your pizza!" Steven grinned, "I'll try to help."

"Thanks, Steven. If you get any word on the clocks, call me up! You know the number." She smiled, waving to Steven as he walked out the door. Steven walked, eating a slice of the pizza and carrying the box in his other hand. He walked to the Big Donut, opening the door carefully and strolling inside.

Both Sadie and Lars were nowhere to be seen – Steven glanced around the store, setting the pizza box on the counter and glancing around it, "Sadie?"

The backroom door opened loudly, and Sadie quickly walked out, smoothing her hair down and sighing. "Oh! Steven, I'm sorry. I was just – um, just sorting out inventory. In the back."

"Is Lars back there?" Steven asked, glancing around the corner at the door.

"No! No." Sadie blushed, looking at the pizza box on the counter, "Is this for me?"

"You can have a slice if you want." Steven offered, eyeing Sadie suspiciously, "How have you and Lars been?"

"Good."

"Just good?" Steven asked, feeling slightly disappointed, "I was sure he liked you."

"I'm not so sure about that." Sadie replied, frowning slightly, "But that's – that's okay. I've moved on."

"What?!" Steven shouted, pressing his hands to the counter, "Moved?! On?!"

"Yep. I've got – um, I've got a boyfriend."

"Sadie, it's only been –" Steven paused, closing his eyes and trying to count the days, "A week and a half!"

"Actually it's been almost two weeks. You were close." Sadie mumbled, blushing again, "I just – decided, that, you know, if Lars isn't going to make a move then I should move on."

"So you did. Just like that." Steven replied, narrowing his eyes, "Who's your boyfriend?"

"Um," Sadie blushed an even deeper shade of red, "Ronaldo." Steven leaned forward, pressing his head to the counter, "You okay?"

"I guess Ronaldo is okay." Steven mumbled, looking up at her, "But Lars –"

"Enough about Lars, okay? He – he may have liked me, but he had a terrible way of showing it. He wasn't nice to me, he never agreed with me on anything, he was always – flirting with other girls!" Sadie replied, burying her face in her hands, "I'm happy now! With Ronaldo. We hang out and watch movies and he's _nice_."

"I know he's nice." Steven retorted, pursing his lips, "I just always thought it was going to be you and Lars."

"I'm happy, Steven. Hey, have you had any problems lately? With clocks?" Sadie asked, and Steven nodded quickly.

"Yeah! Our clocks reset. I was talking to Connie, too, and her clocks reset all the way in the next town over."

"It have anything to do with the Crystal Gems?" Sadie asked, and Steven shrugged.

"Not sure. Maybe. We've been having – you know, problems. Ever since the evacuation." Steven huffed, taking another slice of pizza out of the box and beginning to eat it, "Is the pizza good?"

"Oh, yeah. Fish Stew Pizza is always good. Sometimes I go and talk to Kiki, she's really nice."

"What about Jenny?" Steven asked, and Sadie shrugged.

"Not so much my type of person to hang out with, but she's nice, too." Sadie finished her slice and smiled at Steven, "Thanks for stopping in, Steven."

"Why isn't Lars working today?" Steven asked quickly, and Sadie seemed a bit surprised.

"He's been working less, ever since –"

"You started dating Ronaldo!"

"Well, no. Ever since we went camping. But I guess Ronaldo might be a factor." She shrugged, pausing for a moment before shaking her head, "Whatever. You can stop by his house and see him, if you want." She suggested, "He likes pizza."

"I'll do that. Thanks, Sadie! I'll let you know if I figure out anything about the clocks."

"Bye, Steven!" She called out, waving to him. He left the Big Donut, finishing his slice of pizza and carrying the box in his hands. A few blocks over he found Lars' house, the driveway empty. He walked up to the front door and knocked, bouncing back and forth on his feet.

Lars opened the door, yawning and scratching his head, "Steven?"

"I brought you some pizza!" He grinned, holding out the box, "I just came from the Big Donut."

"What?" Lars frowned, taking the pizza box, "Um, thanks. Why are you here? Did Sadie send you?" He asked somewhat hopefully, raising his eyebrows.

"Kind of. She just wanted me to bring you this pizza." Steven shrugged, and Lars smiled slightly.

"You didn't taint it, did you?" Lars asked suspiciously, "And she didn't, either?"

"Why would we give you messed up pizza?" Steven asked, frowning, "Geez, Lars. We aren't out to get you or anything!" He laughed, and Lars opened the door a bit wider. Steven took it as an invitation to step inside, looking around the house. It was pretty messy – but then again, Lars wasn't one for cleaning and he always talked about his parents rarely being home – and when they were, they weren't exactly being nice.

"Sadie might be out to get me. Did you see she's going out with – Ronaldo? Ronaldo! Of all people. I used to be his friend – and I thought we were going to be friends again and this happened!"

"Well, to be fair, it's not like you and Sadie were dating or anything." Steven frowned, rubbing his arm.

"Well, _no_ , but I – I liked her!" Lars huffed, stomping over to the kitchen table, sitting down and opening the box. He stuffed a piece of pizza into his mouth, chewing hard, "I thought she liked me, too!"

"I feel like such a marriage counselor." Steven huffed, sitting down at the table, "She did like you. She was tired of waiting, so she moved on."

"She moved on?! I made her move on – oh, man, I screwed up!" Lars shouted, dropping the pizza and burying his face in his hands, smearing grease across his face, "I almost had her!"

"Maybe – maybe someday, you two can be together. Just not now." Steven suggested, and Lars looked up at him.

"Take this piece of advice, Steven. If you like a girl, you – you have to show her. Because she's not going to be around forever." Lars replied, voice cracking slightly, "Oh, forget it! Get out of here, Steven. I don't feel like talking anymore." Lars cried out, and Steven quickly stood and headed for the door. "Don't tell Sadie I said _any_ of this. Got it?"

"Got it." Steven replied, swallowing thickly and quickly leaving the house, shoving his hand into his pocket and tugging out his cell phone. Three messages, from Connie.

 _Hey, Steven. Our clocks are all screwed up again. Any idea what's up?_

 _I finally mastered this song I was practicing on the violin – do you want me to show you tomorrow?_

 _Clocks are out again! How is it in Beach City?_

Steven stared at the messages for a moment before closing his phone, shoving his hands into his pockets. To be honest, it was bad in Beach City. Everything – everything was starting to go bad. Amethyst was hurt, Sadie and Lars were having problems, Fish Stew Pizza wasn't doing well. There was a new gem and Steven didn't know what to do about it – they couldn't find Peridot – he trudged across town back home, climbing up the stairs and falling into bed. He pulled out his phone again, and texted Connie.

 _Beach city is ok. Busy tomorrow with the Gems. Sorry._

He felt bad about lying, but until he figured out what was going on with Jade and the clocks, he wasn't sure he wanted her in the center of the impending danger. She replied quickly,

 _That's okay! Later this week, then. Want me to bring you some new books next time I see you?_

He stared at the text, running his thumb over the screen a few times before replying.

 _Ok. I miss you._

She replied just as fast as she had before.

 _I miss you, too. I'll bring you lots of books. Watch over the seashells for me!_

He couldn't help but smile slightly, setting his phone aside and curling up in bed, Lion nestled at his feet.


	7. Ship

Steven wanted to wake up to pancakes in the morning. His favorite thing was when Greg came over and cooked up some pancakes and then woke Steven up to eat them – they would share the plate right in the morning. Steven liked cooking, of course, but things were so much better when they were just automatically ready.

Steven didn't wake up to pancakes. Instead, he woke up to an explosion.

He yelled immediately, eyes opening and hand flying to grab a handful of Lion's mane. He reached into it and tugged out his sword, slipping off the bed and running down the steps.

The Gems were nowhere to be seen inside the house, but outside, they were standing in a circle, looking down at the sand.

Steven opened the door and walked outside, squinting in the sunlight down at the beach. There was a capsule, long and pill-shaped, black and shining. He ran down the steps and across the hot sand, panting and holding his sword tightly.

None of the Gems spoke for a moment before Garnet looked over at Steven, crossing her arms, "Good morning."

"Good morning?!" Steven shouted, waving his sword around haphazardly, "What is this thing?"

"If we knew, we would tell you." Amethyst replied, flicking her hair off her shoulder and kicking the pill with her foot. She yelped and yanked her foot back, groaning, "It's hot! Don't touch it!"

"Is it a ship?" Pearl wondered out loud, touching her chin, "It could be a homeworld ship. In that case, we should secure the area. We need fencing! Well, more of it, anyways." She said, glancing over at the fence they'd put up a while back – it had started to fall apart already, wrecked by the sand and the ocean.

"Pearl, I just woke up! I don't feel like putting up another fence." Steven whined, dropping his sword onto the sand and sitting down beside it, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"Well we can't just leave this here!" She cried out, waving her arms around and pointing to the ship, "Do you know how _dangerous_ that is?"

"Pearl's got a point." Amethyst mumbled, unhappy that she'd admitted it, "I mean, Beach City is right around the corner. Maybe we should bubble it."

"Can we even bubble it?" Garnet asked, glancing around at the Gems, "It's rather large. I'm wondering if the mass is too much to put a bubble around."

"Steven can bubble himself." Pearl replied, "He can probably bubble this."

"Pearl, this is huge!" Amethyst replied, looking at the ship. It had to be at least the size of Greg's van, possibly slightly bigger, "He could like – pass out or something if he uses too much energy."

Pearl looked uncomfortable with the idea of Steven getting hurt, and glanced down at him on the sand, "Alright, we won't bubble it. We'll just watch it. Very, very carefully."

"Can we take shifts?" Steven asked, looking up at them, "I call not it for the first shift, I want to eat breakfast."

"Alright, fine. You go do that, Steven." Garnet replied, looking at the ship, "I'll watch it first."

"You sure? I could. If you want." Pearl offered, wringing her hands.

"No, no. I got it. You should go check on the Jade bubble." Garnet replied, sitting down on the sand, legs crossed, "Make sure it isn't trying to open up."

"Right! Right. That's useful." Pearl nodded, turning on her heel and heading up the stairs, back to the house.

"Ugh, she is so _tense_!" Amethyst cried out once Pearl was out of earshot, "Anytime anything happens, _she_ always has to be useful. _She_ always has to be doing something –"

"Amethyst, you seem a bit tense." Garnet replied, and Amethyst glanced down at her.

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" She shouted, tugging at her hair. "Oh my gosh. I'm going to go eat something. And take a nap. Let me know when someone needs _me_." She turned and stormed up the stairs, slamming the door to the house. Garnet kept her eyes trained on the ship, sighing slightly.

"Something's wrong." Ruby mumbled, "Something between us Gems."

"I'm sure it can be fixed. We're all just stressed. At least we have each other." Sapphire replied, and Garnet pressed her hands together, locking her fingers, "We'll be fine, Ruby."

"What if we get separated again?" Ruby asked.

"Then we find each other again. And if we don't, then we keep looking until we do. Don't worry, Ruby." Sapphire begged, "Please don't worry about this. Or us."

* * *

Amethyst shoved chips into her mouth while Steven chewed on his waffles – Pearl sat in between them, cradling the pink bubble with the gem inside.

"Do you think it's dangerous?" Pearl asked them, her eyes never leaving the stone, "Amethyst, are you sure –"

"I told you I don't know anything!" Amethyst groaned, sinking down into the couch, "Please stop – bringing it up. The Kindergarten. That – thing. Jade, or whatever." Amethyst grumbled, balling up the empty bag and tossing it across the room.

"She came from the ocean. Do you think she's related to Lapis?" Pearl inquired, glancing at Steven, who shrugged. "Oh, come on! I'm not the only one who's ridiculously invested in this! Could you show any more interest in this?! This could change _everything_."

"It's not going to! It's just another gem, Pearl! Another gem we'll have to fight and get rid of. Don't you get it? We're the good guys, they –" Amethyst pointed at the gem, "are the bad guys!"

"Amethyst, that's a Kindergarten gem." Steven mumbled, "It's like you."

"It is _not_!" She yelled, reaching for the bubble, "I'm not crazy or evil or – I'm not –" Pearl held the bubble out of Amethyst's reach, standing up quickly, "Give it to me! I want to get rid of it!"

"Amethyst." Pearl frowned, "Amethyst, stop." She placed a hand on Amethyst's shoulder and she calmed for a moment, before quickly growing angry again. Amethyst shoved Pearl away and turned around.

"I'm going to my room – _no one bother me!_ " She stormed away, the door to her room shutting tightly behind her.

Pearl glanced over at Steven and smiled apologetically, "She's fine, you know. Thinking about the kindergarten just gets her all – riled up, you know?"

"If it gets her all riled up, why do you keep talking about it?" Steven asked, standing up and staring at Pearl for a moment, "If you know it hurts her, why do you keep bringing it up? Why do you keep hurting her?" Steven asked. Pearl opened her mouth to say something and then promptly shut it, scowling and turning away.

"I'm going to town." He mumbled, reaching over and grabbing his backpack, "Be nice to her."

"I'll try." Pearl replied quietly, watching Steven leave. She sat back down on the couch, cradling the bubble in her hands.

Steven walked down the stairs, waving at Garnet before heading into town. The Big Donut was closed, and so was Fish Stew Pizza. He walked to the beach instead, sitting down on the sand and taking out his phone.

 _Not busy with the Gems anymore. Do you want to come over?_

He typed, sending the message to Connie. She replied nearly instantly.

 _Yeah! I'll bring books._

He smiled and typed his reply, telling her to meet him at the beach. He shoved his phone into his backpack and walked down to the water, digging for shells and picking out a few of the prettiest ones – a purple one, a large white one, a metallic-colored one. He set them aside and laid down on the sand, laying his arm over his eyes and waiting for Connie.

She arrived a near half-hour later, hopping out of her dad's car and smoothing out her shirt and fixing her glasses. She walked down the beach to Steven, nudging him with her foot. He moved his arm and smiled up at her, sitting up, "Hi, Connie."

"Hey, Steven! Okay, so I brought you a few books." She said, sitting cross-legged on the sand and opening her backpack.

"I found you some new shells. For the collection." He said, showing her the few shells and setting them on her knee. She grinned and ran her fingers over them.

"Thanks, Steven. Our collection's getting kind of big." She laughed, tugging three books out of her backpack, "What are we going to do when we run out of space?"

"Just make more space." Steven replied, and Connie laughed, shoving the books toward him, "What are these?"

"Okay, so this one is 'The Hobbit'. It's really good. It has lots of adventure, which I thought you would like. This one is 'The Little Prince' and it's French! But I have the English version because I'm only just learning French and you don't know any."

"You're learning French?" Steven asked, looking up at her, "I didn't know that! Say something in French!"

"Okay. Um – Je m'appelle Connie." She said, "That means my name is Connie."

"So – Je – m'appelle Steven?" He repeated, and she grinned, nodding.

"Yep! And the last book is 'The Doll People'. It's really – kind of weird. Interesting. I think you might like it." She smiled, "That's all I have for now. I have lots of books but I try to think of all the ones you like best –"

"I've liked every book you've given me so far. So you've done pretty well." Steven beamed, putting the books into his backpack.

"So – what happened to your plans with the Gems?" Connie asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, this morning, a ship crashed into the beach. Over by my house." He said, and her eyes widened.

"What?! What kind of ship – oh, no, was it Peridot?" Connie gasped, turning around to look down the beach toward the cliff, "Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone's fine. But right now we all have to stay at the house, you know. To watch the ship and the bubble."

"The bubble?"

"The bubble we put the gem into. We think it's Jade." Steven continued, and Connie looked down at the sand, drawing in it with her fingers while he talked.

"Jade – I guess that makes sense. Doesn't it make you nervous?" She asked, looking up at Steven, "You know, with the clocks resetting and Jade and the – now the ship. I feel like –"

"Something's coming." Steven cut her off, and she looked up at him, "I know something is, and it's big and it's bad. And when the time comes –"

"I'm going to need to be protected? Oh, come on, don't start with that again. You can't spend all your time protecting me when you can be fighting against evil Gems, Steven." Connie retorted, and Steven pouted, "Don't give me that look. You know it's true."

"If anything happened to you, Connie, I would – I don't know. Who would help me build the shell collection? Who would give me books and hang out with me on the beach and –"

"Steven, you have tons of friends." Connie smiled, reaching over to touch his hand comfortingly, "If something happened to me, it wouldn't matter."

"That's a lie. If something happened to you, I'd stop."

"Stop what?" Connie laughed, and Steven stuttered for a moment.

"Stop fighting! I'd stop fighting until you were okay. You're not just my friend, Connie." Steven replied, and Connie blushed, pulling her hand away and folding her hands together in her lap.

"I want to fight for you. With you, I mean." She stumbled over her words, tucking another strand behind her ear, "I want to help protect Beach City. And Earth. My parents, you, the Gems. I want to help! I don't want to just be some burden!" She exclaimed, "I want to be a part of this."

Steven thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Alright. I'll talk to Pearl."

"About?"

"About training. You know. If you're serious about helping, then you need to have some sort of training –"

"Oh, thank you, Steven!" She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her in turn and they hugged, tightly, until she finally pulled away, "I'm going to make a difference."

"Connie, you already have." Steven laughed, and Connie laughed, too. They stood together and walked to the shoreline, picking shells from the water and collecting them in their palms.


	8. Calamity

Pearl stared at the bubble in her palms the entire day, even after Steven came back to the house and went to bed after sundown. Garnet sat outside on the sand, and then Amethyst sat outside, and then they sat outside together, staring at the ship. Amethyst would touch it every so often and eventually it went from scorching to warm – then lukewarm and cool. She ran her hands along the metal creases and curves, across the handle at the top. She tried, and then Garnet tried, but neither of them could get it open.

Pearl continued to stare at the bubble until past midnight, and then as dawn started to crack over the ocean, the world turning from black to grey, Jade started to glow.

Inside the bubble, the smooth green stone started to shine, threatening to reopen and release the Gem inside. Pearl immediately gasped and then started yelling excitedly, waking Steven reluctantly from his slumber.

"Pearl – stop – that." Steven groaned, holding his pillow over his ears, "It's four in the morning, Pearl!"

"It's happening! It is _happening_!" She shouted, holding the bubble up and running outside, "Garnet! Amethyst! _Jade!_ "

"What?" Garnet stood quickly, balling her hands into fists, "Bring it to me!"

Pearl ran down the steps and across the beach, slipping across the sand, "Here! Here. What are we going to do? Are we going to let it out?" Pearl asked, and Amethyst stood, looking into the bubble. Up in the house, Steven was stirring, slipping out of bed and yawning, walking down to join them on the beach.

"I don't know. Do you think it's safe? All three of us are here, we can always attack if it tries to cause trouble." Pearl rambled, touching her chin, "Maybe we should keep it in there until we can find out more about it –"

"No, that's cruel." Amethyst replied, narrowing her eyes at Pearl, "You can't keep a Gem locked up when it's ready to come back out. That's painful."

"It might be well-deserved!" Pearl protested, "For all we know, this Gem could be evil –"

"Or ready to help us take on Peridot!" Amethyst shot back, leaning toward the bubble, "I vote we pop it."

"I think we should let it out." Garnet added, moving the bubble around in her hands. Steven approached the group, staring at the bubble.

"Let it out, already!" He cried out, and before Pearl could protest once more, Garnet popped the bubble. She threw the Gem into the air and it burst open, exploding with green light. A figure dropped onto the sand, small and frail, coughing and sputtering.

It looked like a small girl – she reminded Steven of Lapis, but with longer hair and light emerald skin. She glanced up at the Crystal Gems, gasping and quickly standing on the sand, reaching to smooth out her dress. She tucked long strands of hair behind her ears, straightening her back. "Hello. The – The Crystal Gems, yes?"

Pearl stared at Jade for a moment before nodding, "I'm Pearl. This is – um, this is Garnet. And Amethyst – and this is Steven."

Jade narrowed her eyes at Steven for a moment, "You remind me of someone I used to know." Steven blushed brightly, glancing around at the Gems for a moment before reaching a hand out to Jade. Jade took his hand, shaking it once and releasing it quickly, nervously.

"I'm – I am Jade. I am not a danger to any of you – _my ship!_ " She yelped suddenly, running over to the metal ship still stuck in the sand. She grabbed onto the door handle and yanked it open, diving inside.

The Gems watched in amazement as the ship spurred to life. The door closed and the ship lifted itself from the sand with metal arms, shifting to stand straight up. Jade came back out a moment later, moving around to the other side to look at it.

"Oh, no. No, no, no! It's damaged _horribly_. This is a disaster." Jade sighed, running her hands through her hair, "How will I ever get back to homeworld now?"

"Homeworld?! You're – you're from the Kindergarten." Amethyst spoke up, and Jade turned to look at her, wrapping her arms around herself quickly.

"I am. But – well, I didn't know any Gems on Earth until I met you four just a moment ago. I've heard of you, I just didn't think – I would ever find you." She said, frowning slightly, "I come from the rivers."

"The rivers?" Pearl asked, knitting her eyebrows together, "The rivers are halfway across the world – how did your ship get you here?"

"I was trying to get back to homeworld with my ship, but by the time we started to break through the first layers of the atmosphere, my ship was failing. I took an emergency escape, but I landed in the ocean and cracked my gem and had to regenerate."

"But why did your ship show up days after you?" Steven asked, frowning slightly, "You seem suspicious."

Jade pursed her lips and folded her arms over one another, staring at Steven for a moment. She crouched down, sitting on the sand with her knees tucked under her.

"You think I'm a liar." She smiled slightly, tilting her head, "You're also thinking about whether or not I'm dangerous. How you'll protect Beach City if I start to destroy things. How you'll protect Sadie, Lars, and – Connie." She grinned, "Might want to be careful what you think around me."

"Mind-reader." Garnet muttered, flexing her fingers, "How do you manage that?"

"It hurts." Jade replied, standing and brushing the sand from her legs, "It gives me major migraines. But it's worth it, for intimidation purposes." She smirked, looking at her ship, "The ship has an auto-pilot that slowed it when it started crashing. It brought it to the nearest source of land – which happened to be here, on this beach. It's really lucky I washed up on the same beach."

"Almost too lucky." Pearl mumbled suspiciously, and Jade raised her eyebrows at Pearl.

"I promise you, I don't mean any harm. I've been looking for other Gems for so long and – I know what homeworld did. I know what they did to me and all the other Kindergarten Gems. But I was –"

"Lonely." Steven answered, and Jade smiled fondly at him and nodded.

"I was really lonely. I didn't think I'd ever find you four. You're practically famous." Jade blushed, wrapping wisps of hair around her finger.

"Oh, we're hardly famous." Pearl replied, though the rest of the Crystal Gems could see how flattered she really was, "We're simply – well-known, for all of the good deeds we've accomplished."

"Might want to let some of that air out of your head, Pearl." Amethyst muttered, crossing her arms. Jade giggled and Steven looked over at Garnet, who was clenching and unclenching her fists.

"Alright, well – um, I'm hungry!" Steven grinned, looking at all of the Gems, and then at Jade, "Do you eat?"

"Not really." Jade replied, rubbing her arm, "I could go for some water, though."

"Alright! Pancakes for me, water for Jade, and the rest of you will just have to stand in the kitchen with us! Come on!" Steven smiled, turning around and starting to walk toward the house, everyone else following (reluctantly).


	9. Adjust

"Come on, Jade, it can be fun!" Steven grinned, tugging at her hand, "I can show you everything in Beach City, and you can meet my dad – and you can meet Sadie and Lars and Kiki and Jenny and -" Steven rambled, but Jade only continued to shake her head and try to pull her hand away.

"I'm not sure I should." She replied, pulling her hands back into her lap, looking up at him, "I'd rather stay here and watch over my ship."

"But it's not like it's going anywhere!" Steven huffed, looking at the broken down ship pushed into the shade of the cliff, "Until Amethyst can find the parts to fix it, it's not going to work."

"I _know_ , Steven." Jade replied, exhausted as she leaned back against the cool rock of the cliff, "I know that. I just feel – _better_ , when I'm around it."

"Jade, please? Please?" Steven begged, and Jade pursed her lips and looked up at him. Over the past few days, Jade had insisted on sitting next to the ship from sun up to sun down, and all through the night. She rarely moved, and when she did, it was only because Steven made her. The Crystal Gems were too occupied with their search for Peridot to watch her constantly, so they left most of that up to Steven (and Lion, who seemed completely put off by Jade from the second it saw her).

"Fine. Only for a bit." She muttered, standing and brushing the sand from her legs, following Steven off the beach and onto the roads of Beach City, "You've been very kind to me, Steven. I appreciate it greatly."

"It's not like I _want_ to be mean to you or anything. Neither do the other Gems. They're just – really – anxious lately. Because of Peridot."

"Oh, right." Jade nodded, following him down the sidewalk, "I heard Pearl say something about her. Is she dangerous?"

"Very. She already almost beat us once, and apparently she's planning a homeworld invasion of Earth – we're just trying to track her down. Because if we do, we might be able to get all the details to stop her."

"I'm sure a homeworld invasion wouldn't be – that bad." Jade mumbled, though memories of the Kindergarten plagued her mind, "Alright, perhaps it would be incredibly devastating, but you could make the best of it, couldn't you?" Jade suggested, and Steven glanced over at her.

"We have to protect the Earth. I have to protect my friends. I'm part human, I'm like them. I know they would do the same for me." Steven said with confidence, grinning and opening the door to the Big Donut. Lars was sitting on the counter, away from the register where Sadie stood. Lars was playing on a small video game console, mumbling words to himself as her played. Sadie looked bored, her chin in her hand, staring at Lars' back.

She stood up a bit taller when Steven walked in, a smile breaking across her face, "Hey, Steven? Whoa – who's that?" She asked, looking at Jade, "Hi! I'm Sadie."

"This is Jade. She's a Gem." Steven said, grabbing Jade's hand and tugging her forward, "We found her on the beach."

"Hey, Jade. It's nice to meet you." Sadie grinned, reaching across the counter to shake her hand, "Do you want a donut?"

Jade took Sadie's hand gently, shaking it once before pulling away shyly, "No, thank you. I don't eat."

"Oh, that sucks." Sadie mumbled, though she offered a small smile at Jade, "Well if you need anything to drink, you can get something over there." She said, pointing at the drink dispensers. When Lars didn't say anything, Sadie frowned and hit him in the back, "Lars!"

"What?" He looked up, glancing at Sadie before turning to Jade, his eyebrows raising, " _Oh_." Lars turned off his video game and set it aside, hopping off the counter, "Hey. I'm Lars."

"I'm Jade." She smiled, and Lars took her hand, shaking it a few times before releasing it. He reached over and grabbed Steven's shirt, pulling him closer.

"Steven?! Why didn't you introduce me to your hot babe friend earlier?" Lars hissed, and Steven shrugged, pulling away.

"We only met her a few days ago." Steven replied, and Lars leaned back against the counter, staring at Jade as she took a plastic cup and walked over to the drink dispenser, staring at the different names. She picked water, pouring herself a large cup of it and sipping on it. Lars walked over to her and Sadie rolled her eyes, huffing and leaning against the counter, "You okay, Sadie?" Steven asked, and she shook her head.

"I broke up with Ronaldo."

"What?! That was so short! That was like – a week!"

"It just wasn't working out." Sadie muttered, staring at Lars as he talked to Jade. Jade laughed slightly at something he said and Lars beamed. Sadie had to look away, "I _thought_ I was over him."

"Lars?" Steven asked, leaning against the counter, "Oh, Sadie." Steven pouted, patting her hand on top of the counter, "He wasn't over you when you were with Ronaldo."

"I know! And then as soon as I broke up with Ronaldo because I realized I still – Lars just doesn't know how to make a move." Sadie huffed, looking up and narrowing her eyes at Lars' back. "It's annoying."

"Understandably." Steven nodded sympathetically, glancing back at Jade and Lars by the drinks. Lars seemed to be spewing out jokes left and right because Jade couldn't stop laughing. Jade glanced at Sadie for a moment but quickly stopped, blushing and glancing down at her feet. She finished her water and shoved the cup into the trashcan, not giving Lars a second look.

"Steven, I want to go." Jade said, tugging at Steven's arm suddenly, jerking him away from the counter, "Right now."

"What? Um, okay. Bye Sadie! Bye Lars! See you later-!" Steven called out, waving to them as Jade dragged him from the store, "What was that about?"

"The blonde one doesn't like me." Jade muttered, releasing her tight grip on Steven's arm, "She was thinking bad things about me."

"Oh – Sadie? Oh! It's just because she likes Lars –" Steven began, but Jade frowned and turned to Steven.

"That doesn't give her the right to think bad things about me."

"Well, of course not! She was just jealous, Jade, she didn't mean any harm. She's really nice." Steven sighed, furrowing his brow at Jade. Jade was clenching and unclenching her fists, mumbling to herself. "Are you alright?"

"I'm _fine_!" Jade shouted, though it was quite obvious she wasn't – the oval-shaped gem in the middle of her torso brightened and her weapons appeared – two small, yet sharp, throwing knives.

"Okay. Okay, let's calm down." Steven's eyes widened, pulling Jade to sit on the curb, gently prying the knives from her hands and setting them at her feet.

"Everyone's out to _get me_!" Jade shouted, and a few passing people started to stare at them. Steven shook his head quickly and ignored them, kneeling in front of Jade.

"No one's out to get you! The people in Beach City are really nice, I promise! I'm a citizen of Beach City. I'm really nice. No one's out to get you." Steven tried to assure her, but she only shook her head, growing more upset.

"Your friends think I'm evil. The Gems and the humans. I want to go back to the beach. I want to be with my ship _._ " Jade hissed, and Steven nodded, standing and taking her hands.

"Okay, that's what we'll do. We'll go back to the beach. It'll be fine." Steven assured her. Jade stood, keeping her eyes trained on the asphalt as they quickly walked back to the beach. She sank down into the sand by her ship, leaning against it and closing her eyes.

She took her weapons back from Steven and he turned around, walking up to the house and slipping inside, leaning against the door afterwards. Helping Jade adjust was going to be harder than he thought.


End file.
